Holder for small articles



Oct. 20, 1931. c. W.'BOTSFORD A 1,828,456

' HOLDER FOR SMALL ARTICLES Filed Dec. 51, 1929 M yflfflgw/ In V? n for Patented Oct. 20, 1931 1 UNITED STATES emcee w. newsman, F nos enemas,

ODELL, OI 'IITTSBURQH', PENNSYLVANIA a v Homing: non SMALL mrcnns Application fled December 31, 1929. se n; n. 417,687

' iinvntiioin qa I holder for.

small articlesfi, which can readily heattached to a solidsuriace suchas a wall or the backsof theatre seats,:and which, when so attached,

.5 is suitable for retainin in a substantially fixed position articles o clothing, programs, canes, umbrellas or other small articles. 7

Usually, in places of amusement such as theatres, means for holding small articles are 10 not provided convenient the seated audifence; it is necessary for each individual to.

keep in mind and look after the small articles in his or her possession, detracting from V the pleasure found in the entertainment. One

q of the objects of .my inyentionis to provide a holder for such articles, including hand bags and the like, which may .be .fastened to the backs of theatre seats, or surfaces of other so lids,and which, when so fastened will re- Z0 tain arti'clesgin asubstantially fixed posi Other objects will become apparent tion. by the further description of my holder. Hooks of the ordinary type and other meansfthus far proposed as holders are not adapted for use "in theatres, .so far asi'I am aware, because of the protrudingparts which. are commonly hook-like and catch OIlthB wearing apparel of patrons passing back and forth between the rows of seats. With does not have this undesirable Zieatureand which I believe to be well adapted for use on the backs of theatre seats, as shown bythe drawings.

metal, includinga ribbonlike ,pieceof metal of uniform or irregular thickness, a portion of which is rigidly fa'stened to abase late, thelremainder forming a plurality of hends coac'ting with said base plate to'iform a (lea pository for small articles; said strip being adapted to holdsaid articles in substantially a fixed position under spring tension.

7 "One form my holder is shown in front elevation inFigure .1. A sectional View of the same holder, through of Figure 1 is shown in Figure l2;

In the Figures,il isa base plate, 2 the metal parts.

this in mind .I have designed a holder which holder comprises essentially astrip 'of;

strip,3. a means oi fastening {thestripz'to the plate, rivet or equiyalent) and 4 is] the opening or hole in the base plate into which the free end of the strip 2 passes in contacting the elastic member 5. Thesubstantiallysemi-circular bends in the strip 2 ar'elshown at'6 and7. Holes are shown in the base plate at 8 and 9 whereby it can readily be r iastenedto a solid surface with screws, bolts,

rivets or other means.

Strip 2 need not be made entirely of spring metal; it may be rather rigid, the spring temper being chiefly at and near the rigid end.

The elastic member, or resilient material may be a piece of rubber packing or the equivalent countersunk on the under side oit'base plate, which latter holds it rigidly in place when the whole is suitably fastened to a solid surface; The resilient material is used for thedouble purposeof preventing noise resulting from contact occasionedby a sudden release'of the spring tension strip,

and to prevent excessive wear of the metal The resilient contact portion can readily be replaced at a, nominal cost.

The preferred tension on strip 2 is such that the end free to 'be moved can be pulled .a limited distance away from the base plate by the use of ones hand. When no force is appliedtending 'to pull thestrip away from base plate, the free-end remains in a countersunk position in said base plate. The rigid extremity of thestrip is at all times substantially flush with the base plate. There are ,no protruding parts to catch 011 the wearing apparel of personscontacting theholder. Attention is called to the fact that the bends inthe stripQ form with the base plate a double depository for small articles, one being larger thantheother; the smaller one .beingztormedby thebend in the strip 2 nearrest to .its rigid end. I that this is the .preterred sequence. i the larger one was :first, (adjacentthe rigid end of the strip 2),

and a relatively large article such as an umbr-ell'a is deposited therein, the smaller one 'wonld bewide open and thus not in a position adapted to rigidly hold small articles. With thesequence as shown in thefigures a relatively largearticlef can be held in the larger depository without impairing the crimson-m, ASSIGNOR. 'ro WILLIAM w.

ability of the smaller one to simultaneously hold small articles.

The fixed end of the strip 2 which contacts the base plate may be either countersunk in said base plate or the edges flattened to make a smooth contact with it, for the purpose of preventing wearing apparel catching thereon.

Base plate 1 may be flat, shaped for use on warped or curved surfaces or it may be made of metal or composition which bends itself to shaping as desired. The spring tension of strip 2 is so regulated in the making of the holder that, when not under the influence of an extraneous force, the extremity free to be moved is countersunk in the opening provided in the base plate.

The strip 2 is shown in the figures as of uniform thickness but obviously this element can advantageously be made ornamental and of varying thickness. Preferably it should be made heavier (stronger) at and near the rigidly fixed extremity than at the free end.

Figure 8 shows a modification of my holder in which the strip is fastened (riveted,

soldered, welded or the equivalent) to the base plate at a point between the depositories formed by the bends therein coacting with said base plate. In other words the rigid portion of the strip is located between the primary bends therein which form with the base plate a plurality of depositories for small articles. In this instance as in the holder shown in Figure 1 it is usually preferable to make the strip thicker at and close to the portion rigidly fastened to the base plate than at points remote therefrom. A

strip having a thickness tapering from the rigid portion is satisfactory.

I claim:

1. A holder for small articles adapted to be fastened to the backs of theatre seats and other solid surfaces comprising a base plate and a strip of metal; said strip of metal hav ing a flat extremity rigidly fixed to said plate, the remainder being shaped with a curvature from end to end substantially convex to said plate forming with it a depository for'small articles, the unattached extremity being free for limited motion away from said plate un- 4 der spring tension by the application of a force; said base plate having a countersunk portion adapted to receive said free extremity therein, resilient material secured within said countersunk portion, the free extremity of said strip of metal contacting with said re silient material, and said base plate having means for attachment to a solid surface.

2. A holder for small articles adapted to be fastened to the backsof theatre seats and other solid surfaces, comprising a base plate and a strip of spring metal; said strip of metalhaving a flat extremity rigidly fixed to said plate, the remainder being shaped with a curvature from end to end substantially convex to said plate forming with it a depository for small articles, the unattached extremity being free for limited motion away from said plate under spring tension by the application of a force; said base plate having a coimtersunk portion adapted to receive said free extremity therein, resilient material secured within said countersunk portion, the free extremity of said strip of metal contacting with said resilient material, and said base plate having means for attachment to a solid surface.

3. A holder for small articles adapted to be fastened to the backs of theatre seats and other solid surfaces, comprising a base plate and a strip of metal; said strip of metal having a flat extremity rigidly fixed to said plate, the remainder being shaped with a curvature from end to end substantially convex to said plate forming with it a depository for small articles, the unattached extremity being free for'limited motion away from said plate under spring tension by the application of a force; said base plate having a countersunk portion adapted to receive said free extremity therein, resilient material secured within said countersunk portion, the free extremity of said strip of metal contacting with said resilient material, and said base plate having means for attachment to a solid surface.

4. A holder for small articles adapted to be fastened to the backs of theatre seats and other solid surfaces, comprising a base plate and a strip of spring metal having a fiat extremity rigidly fixed to said plate; said strip being shaped to form a plurality of adjacent, substantially semicircular arches convex to said plate forming with it separate depositories for small articles, its free extremity being free for limited motion away from said plate under its own spring tension by the application of a force; said base plate having a hole and a countersunk portion, resilient material secured within said countersunk portion, the free end of said strip of metal contacting with said resilient material, and said base plate having means for attachment to a solid surface.

5. holder for small articles adapted to be fastened to the backs of theatre seats and other solid surfaces, comprising a base plate and a strip of spring metal having a flat exj tremity rigidly fixed to said plate; said strip being shaped to form a plurality of adjacent, substantially semicircular arches convex to said plate forming with it separate depositories for'small articles, its free extremity being free for limited motion away from said plate under its own spring tension by the application of a force; said base plate having a hole and a countersunk portion therein, resilient material secured within said countersunk portion beneath said hole, the free extremity of said strip of metal contacting with said resilient material-within said hole, and hav 1 ing means for attachment to a solid surface.

6. A holder for small articles adapted to be fastened to the backs of theatre seats and other solid surfaces and when so fastened adapted to hold small articles, comprising a base plate and a strip of spring metal an end of which is rigidly fastened thereto; said strip being shaped to form two arches convex to said plate with which they form two adjacent, substantially separate depositories of different size, the smaller one being adjacent the rigid end, its non-rigid end being free for limited motion away from said plate under its own spring tension by the'application of a force; said base plate having a countersunk portion resilient material secured within said countersunk portion, the free extremity of said strip of metal contacting with said resilient material, and said base plate having means for attachment to a solid surface.

7. A holder for small articles adapted to be fastened to the backs of theatre seats and other solid surfaces and when so fastened adapted to hold small articles, comprising a base plate and a strip of spring metal an end of which is rigidly fastened thereto; said strip being shaped to form two arches convex to said plate with which they form two adjacent, substantially separate depositories of different size, the smaller one being adjacent the rigid end, its non-rigid end being free for limited motion away from said plate under its own spring tension by the application of a force; said base plate having a hole and a countersunk portion, resilient material secured within said countersunk portion, the free end of said strip of metal contacting with said resilient material, and'said base plate having means for attachment to a solid surface. o

8. A holder for small articles adapted to be fastened to the backs of theatre seats and other solid surfaces and when so fastened adapted to hold small articles, comprising a base plate and a strip of spring metal one extremity of which is rigidly fastened thereto, the other extremity being free for limited motion away therefrom under spring tension by the application of a force, said strip of metal having a thickness greater at said rigid portion than at the free portion; said strip being shaped to form a plurality of I arches convex to and coacting with said base plate forming a plurality of depositories for small articles; said base plate having a hole therein adapted to receive said free extremity of said strip of metal in a countersunk position, and having means for attachment to a solid surface.

CLAUDE w. BOTSFORD. 

